Is it Time for Dave Benedict to Find a New Job?

[zls44]

Staff Directory - University of Connecticut Athletics

Do a CTRL+F for the words "Assistant" and "Associate" and prepare to have your mind blown.

 

[CL82]

Staff Directory - University of Connecticut Athletics

Do a CTRL+F for the words "Assistant" and "Associate" and prepare to have your mind blown.

I posted the numbers elsewhere but our administrative cost is way above average for P5 programs. That's just nuts. I'd love to go through the AD G/L line item by line item. I'm very confident that there is a ton of waste.

 

[freescooter]

LOL. Yeah a ton of waste. I remember when John Rowland was gonna balance the star budget by eliminating waste. Reagan was going to eliminate the federal budget deficit by eliminating “fraud waste and mismanagenet.” Everybody thinks they can eliminate waste until they try. Then they discover that the waste either wasn’t there like they thought, it will actually cost MORE because it is the result of older facilities that aren’t efficient but cost a lot to upgrade, or as they say waste is in the eye of the beholder.

 

[zls44]

LOL. Yeah a ton of waste. I remember when John Rowland was gonna balance the star budget by eliminating waste. Reagan was going to eliminate the federal budget deficit by eliminating “fraud waste and mismanagenet.” Everybody thinks they can eliminate waste until they try. Then they discover that the waste either wasn’t there like they thought, it will actually cost MORE because it is the result of older facilities that aren’t efficient but cost a lot to upgrade, or as they say waste is in the eye of the beholder.

I'd usually agree, but this is a ridiculous number of associate ADs.

 

[Da_Aisijimo_Gou]

I'd usually agree, but this is a ridiculous number of associate ADs.

Could be &/or a ridiculous amount of job/role title inflation; the latter’s never happened within many an organization

 

[CL82]

LOL. Yeah a ton of waste. I remember when John Rowland was gonna balance the star budget by eliminating waste. Reagan was going to eliminate the federal budget deficit by eliminating “fraud waste and mismanagenet.” Everybody thinks they can eliminate waste until they try. Then they discover that the waste either wasn’t there like they thought, it will actually cost MORE because it is the result of older facilities that aren’t efficient but cost a lot to upgrade, or as they say waste is in the eye of the beholder.

There are a whole lot of people who make a pretty decent living by identifying and eliminating "waste and mismanagement." It is easy enough to do if you roll up your sleeves and do the work. UConn's administrative costs being way higher than average is a good indication that that is the place to start.

In my experience when faced with any challenging issue there is always a group of people who will tell you it is too hard to be fixed. I've found it is best to ignore them if you want to get anything done.

 

[ThabeetDown]

UConn sports does not seem to have improved with David Benedict as athletic director. UConn football was awful last season. The once mighty UConn men's basketball team was mediocre. And UConn WM basketball just lost a heart breaker to Notre Dame. The men's hockey team struggled despite having talent. Field Hockey fell apart in OT against Maryland in the NCAAs. Baseball may become our one hope. Is it time for Benedict to find another job? Isn't he supposed to give leadership to the overall program? If we don't get better soon, UConn won't even be on the radar screen if an opening comes in a P5 conference.

Wow, you're an insufferable human being. Get a new hobby.

 

[LoyalFanCT]

Wow, you're an insufferable human being. Get a new hobby.

So I just understand, I am "insufferable" -- I assume you mean arrogant -- because a state employee, whose salary is paid by my taxes, is questioned, when he does not perform at an adequate level. So if a guy who plows the snow for the state DOT fails to plow the area on which you drive, you should not question it? I guess you do not believe in accountability of government employees. Hope you are not an elected public official.

 

[Madmannsucks]

I hate myself for even replying to this....

Football
-Inherited the Diaco mess and fired him, as he should.
-Brought in RE on the cheap
-Hasn't panned out
Grade: D (only because he fired Diaco)

Men's Basketball
-Was handed KO and successful program at time
-Personal issues in KO's life caused coaching and team to plummet.
-Let KO go through a possible loop (who knows)
-Hires Hurley
Grade: A- (Need to see more from Hurley)

W Basketball
-We have Geno
-Shut Up about us losing. Programs would kill to have a coach reach the Final Four 20 times in their career
Grade: A+ (Only because he has stayed away and let Geno be Geno)

So I'm not saying AD Dave is the right guy. Just saying he was dealt a crappy hand and outside his football hire, he's done ok with the only thing he can control, coaches.

Pretty sure I read men's and women's BB teams posted large attendance gains this past season.

 

[junglehusky]

I still think a decent first step would be a formal study to map a direction on how UConn could make it into the B10 or ACC. It may need to come from the governor's office. Once the report is available it would give ammunition to the AD as what steps need to be taken. The study could have as its premise that UConn should be on the top levels of college sports with a strong football program. That elite level would help UConn and the state in numerous indirect and direct ways. Being an elite sports program is expensive -- no question -- but in the long run it would pay for itself. Generally, public research-intensive universities are in P5 conferences. If the AD can't deliver armed with that report, he or she has to be accountable.

LMAO. Form a commission to look into the Big Ten and write a study... Why didn't anybody think of that.

 

[Sky ball]

Here's one guy that if we paid enough -- and he wouldn't come cheap -- may be able to turn things around at UConn:
Kirby Hocutt AD at Texas Tech.
Another one is Jamie Pollard AD at Iowa State.
Don't like these names please list some others.

How about Jim Delany?

 

[uconnbill]

The entire state needs a forensic audit as there is much waste everywhere.

I like Benedict as I think it was Susan Herbst who was the issue and not our AD.

 

[LoyalFanCT]

To those who are skeptical about Susan Herbst improving UConn academically, here are two recent prestigious honors that schools like Yale and Harvard brag about if their faculty/students get them:
UConn Photography Professor Awarded 2019 Guggenheim Fellowship
Akshayaa Chittibabu ’19 (CLAS) has been named a Marshall Scholar, one of the most prestigious honors available to undergraduate students in the U.S.

 

[Adios]

How is Benedict going to leave for a lower paying job if he is so bad?

 

[Willowglen]

The elephant in the room is football. A school must be competitive in all football program aspects - including a decent stadium and a television following - to meaningfully be considered for a P5 (or whatever occurs hereafter with consolidation) conference. Heck, football destroyed the Big East, for two plus decades the best collegiate basketball league ever created. As a former ACC scholarship athlete (old school, before Florida State), I cant stand that Louisville was let into the ACC. They don’t remotely fit into the league academically, (UConn would have been a great fit on that element), but Louisville spent the money on football. I am not sure what UConn can do other than stay the course in football, but it is a tough road ahead.

 

[CL82]

he elephant in the room is football. A school must be competitive in all football program aspects - including a decent stadium and a television following - to meaningfully be considered for a P5 (or whatever occurs hereafter with consolidation) conference.

Lol, and what exactly do you base that on?

 

[Fairfield_1st]

The elephant in the room is football. A school must be competitive in all football program aspects - including a decent stadium and a television following - to meaningfully be considered for a P5 (or whatever occurs hereafter with consolidation) conference.

Lol, and what exactly do you base that on?

We have The State University of New Jersey as proof that you don't necessarily have to be decent in all aspects of Football. It really depends on what the conference values. As the cable carriage fee model diminishes, which got Rutgers in, it will be the size and passion of the fan base that becomes more important. Who is willing to pony up money to watch their school online and help continue to make the conference profitable.